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As hospitals filled with COVID-19 patients and the coronavirus infected physicians and nurses, state medical boards took a hands-off approach to doctor discipline: Emergency actions against doctors' licenses dropped 59% from April through June of this year compared with the same period last year. Emergency license suspensions and restrictions dropped 85% in April alone, according to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, which administers the National Practitioner Data Bank and provided the analysis to USA TODAY. HRSA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services intended to improve health care for the vulnerable and support training of medical professionals. (O'Donnell, 9/8)

When Raquel Minina's 11-year-old son Syrus came home from school in Paulding County, Georgia, last week with a sore throat, runny nose and diarrhea, she was devastated. A hairdresser by trade, she knew a diagnosis of Covid-19 would put her out of work for a month or more, despite all the careful safety precautions she'd been using to keep her clients safe. (LaMotte, 9/9)

Black people in the U.S. are more likely than white people to suffer from hypertension and heart disease and more likely to die at younger ages. They have accounted for a disproportionate share of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. They are also more likely to enjoy healthier lives if treated by Black doctors, but there aren’t enough. Valerie Montgomery Rice is working to address these disparities. Dr. Montgomery Rice became president of Morehouse School of Medicine in 2014. The historically Black institution produces the third-highest number of Black doctors among all U.S. medical schools, putting Dr. Montgomery Rice in a position to impact one of America’s most pressing health challenges. (Belkin, 9/8)

The wedding band is gone. So are his class ring, his wristwatch, the neckties he has worn for decades — even the white coat with his name embroidered in blue. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, James W. McNabb has switched to wearing just surgical scrubs. It’s a departure from the Norman Rockwell image of a small-town doctor, depicted in a print hanging at McNabb’s small-town practice in Mooresville, N.C. But the stripped-down look leaves fewer places for coronavirus to hide. The staff disinfects the office five times a day. The waiting-room magazines have all been tossed out, eliminating another route of infection. (Rowland, 9/8)

As of Wednesday, the ongoing KHN-Guardian project is investigating 1,150 deaths of U.S. health workers in the fight against COVID-19. Today we add 16 new profiles including a community health administrator and activist who survived HIV/AIDS but succumbed to COVID-19, a patient transporter who was the "life of the party," and a cancer center's scheduler who made a personal connection with every client. You can explore our interactive database, now containing over 190 profiles. It investigates the question: Did they all have to die? (9/9)

“How’s your dental practice?” a friend of mine asked, brow furrowed, concern evident on her face. I’ve seen this look a lot recently. Since the onset of the pandemic, with a citywide shutdown and social distancing measures firmly entrenched, more than a handful of friends and family members have presumed I must be on the brink of closing. But I let her know that I am busier than ever. “Really?” she asked. “How’s that possible?” “I’ve seen more tooth fractures in the last six weeks than in the previous six years,” I explained. (Chen, 9/8)